


I Heart Garrus

by Kate_Shepard



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Humor, Mass Effect 3: Citadel, Shakarian - Freeform, Spoilers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-22
Updated: 2016-03-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 07:23:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6319975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kate_Shepard/pseuds/Kate_Shepard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“’I heart Garrus’? Really, Vakarian?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Heart Garrus

**Author's Note:**

> BioWare owns the Mass Effect universe and all characters. I just play with it for my own entertainment.

Shepard’s day had been utterly exhausting. She marveled that she could land on an alien planet, rescue a downed quarian admiral, enter the geth consensus, and fight other geth and take out a Reaper on foot and still be up for a game of Skyllian Five poker with the engineers after dinner but a day of flying around in the shuttle with Cortez, beating Jacob in arcade games, and playing fetch with Jack’s pet varren had her struggling to keep her eyes open. Of course, she thought sleepily, the turian beside her might have a little to do with that.

When Hackett had ordered the _Normandy_ into dry dock and given the crew mandatory shore leave, Shepard had been unhappy to say the least. They were so close to ending this damn war. She knew where the Cerberus base was and Kai Leng was right there with the VI that had the intel they needed to finish the Crucible. It was the worst possible timing for Anderson and Hackett to decide that she needed a break. Then she’d gone to dinner with Joker and had ended up fighting for her life—her entire life, not just the ability to continue living—against her own clone of all things.

She had to admit that had been a little bit fun. After years of battles with the galaxy on the line, it had actually been kind of nice to fight one where the stakes had been limited to just her. Even if the clone had managed to make off with her identity, it would have still been salvageable. Anderson and Hackett knew her. She could prove that she was really herself and, bizarre as the situation had been, it would have been fixable. Getting the Normandy back might have been a difficult task but, given enough time, EDI could have gotten herself back into the system and brought the ship home. It still pissed her off a little that the bitch had tried to make off with her ship and had thrown her hamster in the trash but the little guy seemed no worse for wear after his harrowing experience.

Now that the clone was dealt with, she was able to relax a little bit for the first time since Eden Prime and, gods, was that forever ago. She was almost thankful for the crazy bitch because, as close as she was with her crew, she’d gotten to see a different side of them during the whole ordeal. She’d known they would follow her into hell to save the galaxy. That had never been in question. However, seeing them all come together to help her specifically had touched something deep inside of her. She smiled as she recalled the light-hearted banter through the vaults and Glyph floating around “lowering morale” among the mercs. The crew, her crew, past and present had come together for her in a way that no one ever had before and she’d truly seen for the first time what she meant to them. They didn’t follow her because she was their commander or because they felt duty-bound or obligated. They followed her because they loved her just as much as she loved them. And now they all wanted one last bit of individual time with her before heading back out into the abyss. She couldn’t possibly deny them.

Garrus was loving the time here. He liked the apartment and he seemed to revel in the ability to simply be together without having to run from one battle to the next. She was getting a rare glimpse into what life could be like for them after the war—if they survived it—and she couldn’t remember ever being happier. They went to bed together every night, made love until they collapsed exhausted, and woke beside each other every morning. It wasn’t terribly different from the way things were on the _Normandy_ as he’d finally given in and officially moved his things to her cabin when she’d told him to stop worrying about the crew because everyone knew he was her XO and her partner whether they were on an Alliance ship or not. However, waking up to find him in the kitchen attempting to cook levo food while wearing an apron he’d found somewhere with a bright pink Blasto figure splashed across it was something she would never have expected to see. Having complete and utter privacy without even EDI listening in was another benefit and, while she’d grown accustomed to the AI and thought of her as a beloved friend, she’d realized that they’d been holding back due to the awareness of her constant presence.

She remembered the naïve, idealistic young C-Sec agent she’d first met on the Presidium and then the broken vigilante she’d found on Omega. Those permutations of her mate had grown into someone she couldn’t imagine life without. She was so proud of the man he’d become. She didn’t think she told him that often enough and she resolved to do better. 

His arm tightened around her as if reading her thoughts. She honestly wouldn’t be surprised to learn that his were following hers. The battlefield telepathy they’d developed in the hunt for Saren had strengthened in the intervening years until he knew her mind as well as, and sometimes even better than, she did. She’d never expected to find happiness in the arms of an alien but, despite all of their many cultural and biological differences, Garrus had proven a match for her in every way. He was the only one of her team who’d been there from the beginning and had stood by her through it all. She could count on one of his hands the number of missions she’d run without him since he’d joined her team. The only time they’d been apart since meeting was while he was trying to get accepted into the Spectre program, the time while she was dead, and the months she’d spent in lockup back on Earth. 

Her eyes drifted closed and she leaned further into his warmth, lulled by his steady breathing and the crackle of the holographic fireplace. It was so rare that they had time to simply sit together and do nothing and they were both content to just be here together on the couch while watching the skycars pass by through the window. It was a rare moment of peace and she wanted to enjoy it but the soft pattern of circles he was drawing on her shoulder and the knowledge that, for a little while, she was completely safe here in his arms was too much and she felt herself being pulled into sleep. If the way his mandible came to rest against the top of her head was any indication, he was feeling the same call.

\---

Shepard came awake suddenly at the sound of a shrill beeping and a feminine shriek. She and Garrus bolted upright, both reaching for sidearms they weren’t currently wearing. She took a moment to be thankful for the ability she’d honed to wake instantly aware as she shouted out, “I heart Garrus!” and the beeping stopped. She glanced over to see him giving her a sheepish grin and rubbing the back of his neck. Her only response was to shake her head in amusement. 

She’d known when he and Zaeed had decided to spend the majority of the party booby-trapping the apartment that something like this was bound to happen but he simply shrugged and said, “Hey, it worked. And now everyone in the building knows you love me.”

Shepard shook her head again and looked over to the entrance where Liara was standing. The asari was pale and shaking slightly and Shepard felt a surprised bemusement that she’d finally managed to find something that could shake the unflappable Shadow Broker. Liara shook off her shock and shot a murderous glare at Garrus before stomping into the room. “I would be angry and disappointed in you, Shepard, if it weren’t so clear that you had fallen asleep,” she said. “You have streaks on your face.”

The sight seemed to strike Liara as utterly hilarious and she laughed heartily. Garrus joined in and Shepard felt his knuckle brush across her cheek. “How many people get to see the savior of the galaxy with her hair tangled and creases in her skin from falling asleep on the couch with her turian boyfriend?” he asked with a grin. 

“Two, apparently,” she answered, rolling her eyes at her oldest friends. 

“You forgot I was coming, didn’t you?” Liara asked.

Shepard ducked her head and admitted, “Yeah. In my defense, Cortez did spend the morning trying to make me lose my breakfast and then Jack’s pet varren nearly mauled me trying to get me to throw the frying pan down the hallway again. It’s been a long day.” 

Glyph floated up to her and said, “Commander, if you would like, I can create a schedule of your crew’s intended visiting times and transfer notifications to your omni-tool.”

“Thanks, Glyph,” she said. “That, uh, might be a good idea.”

“I can come back later,” Liara offered gently. “You need your rest. I know you don’t get enough sleep.”

Shepard laughed and said, “I don’t think there’s any danger of me passing out again any time soon. Stay.”

Garrus pressed his forehead to hers and said, “I’ll be upstairs if you need me, Shepard. You ladies have fun.”

Liara grinned at him and said, “’I heart Garrus’? Really, Vakarian?”

He shrugged and smiled. “What can I say? Shepard really likes scars.”


End file.
